Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the passage, Tehran's foreign ministry said.
"The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage," spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Wednesday, according to state news agency IRNA.
According to the report, Baqaei told journalists that talks with Oman were moving forward, but that even if an understanding was reached, it would not mean that the strait had become safe for all passing vessels.
"The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests," he said.
“The competent authorities in our country have reviewed the proposal from technical, legal, security and environmental perspectives,” Baqaei said.
He described the negotiations as “professional” and "productive", adding that the two sides have agreed on the geographic coordinates of the proposed route.
Iran has been engaged in a conflict with the US since February, when the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Tehran. Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes on Gulf nations hosting US assets.
The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April and subsequently signed a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending their military conflict and reaching a lasting peace agreement.
The deal, however, collapsed last month, with the two sides exchanging attacks for nearly two weeks before Trump abruptly halted the bombardment amid reports of talks to resolve the conflict.
Before the war, Hormuz carried around a fifth of the world's oil and LNG exports, and prices have repeatedly surged since the dispute over the waterway erupted, piling economic and political pressure on Washington to end it.
